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BLTA Paired With DBA

I love this play on words for this pairing! What in the world is a DBA? And…dare I suggest that maybe not everyone knows what a BLTA is?

I’ve been obsessing over lunchtime lately. Its because I really, truly, hate breakfast. It used to be my favorite meal as a kid; I looked forward to the typical breakfast of cereal on weekdays and waffles or pancakes on weekends. But about 5 or 6 years ago, it all turned sour. Literally. The thought of drinking a glass of milk now makes me cringe, whether it be slurping up the remnants after my morning cereal is gone, or side by side with delicious brownies like these. And don’t get me started on yogurt–I still force myself to eat it most mornings with some fruit and granola, but it is definitely something I equally don’t look forward to.

Needless to say, I usually skip breakfast. This means that by 11 am, I am STARVING, and thus lunch has become my new favorite meal of the day. It is also an appropriate time in my book to crack open a beer (depending on how productive my morning was, of course) and pair it with whatever deliciousness I’m making myself .

The Sandwich

A BLTA is simply a bacon-lettuce-tomato sandwich with the addition of avocado. In my opinion, I think we should do away with BLTs altogether and make them all BLTAs. Avocado gives a boring BLT that needed savoriness, creaminess, fattiness that we love so much. As a kid, BLTs would hurt my mouth given that the bread was toasty and the bacon crispy. That’s not the case if you add avocado! I took my pictures with the avocado sliced on top of the sandwich, but you can easily make it a substitution for mayo by spreading the avocado on the toast….mmmm. Too bad its so early in the morning, otherwise I’d go make myself another one of these right now.

The Beer Pairing

So what is DBA anyway? DBA is the short way of saying Firestone Walker’s Double Barrel Ale. Technically characterized as a British Pale Ale, this little gem from California is a great lunchtime beer. I think the name is a bit deceiving; you might think this is a dark, heavy beer given the words “double” and “barrel” in the name. But look at that color! The beer has a great maltiness with toasted biscuit notes; the hops balance it out rather than overpower it, giving it just enough bitterness to cut through that bacon and avocado on our BLTA! This is a great day-drinking ale because it is still light and refreshing while giving you a mouthful of flavor. Although a BLTA could go with something as light as a Pilsner or American Lager, you really want this added toastiness in the beer to complement the toastiness of the sandwich. (Get it?) Side note–if you’re just getting into beers or aren’t the biggest fan, this is a great one to try since it has lots of flavor but isn’t overpowering by any means.

Other Beers to Try with this Sandwich

Lets be honest–there are a lot of beers you could make work with this sandwich–It is subjective, after all! In my opinion though, browns and ambers go best with the smokiness from the bacon and savoriness of the avocado. Try these other beers if Firestone Walker DBA isn’t an option for you:

Anderson Valley Boont Amber Ale

Ballast Point Calico Amber Ale

Speakeasy Prohibition Ale

Goose Island Honkers Ale

Newcastle Brown Ale (England)

Adnams (England)

Samuel Smith’s Old Brewery Bitter (England)

The Recipe

This sandwich is not hard to make, but if you’ve never made one before, here’s your recipe!